This just popped into my head today and I was curious. Certainly tons of actions that are business as usual in sports would be considered assault in different contexts. What prevents players from suing eachother for injuries and stuff? Curious about both professional levels and recreational/amateur levels, if they’re different.
Also, is there a line where actions outside of the rules (cheap shots, etc.) could be considered assault or something else?
In: 8
The core concept behind contact sports is something called “informed consent.” It’s illegal for someone to just tackle me for no reason, but when I am playing in a football game I have consented to allowing someone to tackle me, it’s part of the game.
However there have been cases where someone did something that was so egregious that there were lawsuits or even criminal charges. This occurs when someone does something so outside the rules that the player couldn’t have reasonably expected or consented to it.
For example in 2004 Todd Bertuzzi, a hockey player for the Vancouver Canucks, [sucker punched](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEjdwlT6g7o) Colorado Avalanche player Steve Moore, which you can see around 2:35 into the video. Bertuzzi was criminally charged for the incident and Moore, who never played again, sued Bertuzzi.
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